Six weeks of isolation from society can drive even a mild-mannered family man mad.

Bristol Marunde (12-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC), fresh off his release from “The Ultimate Fighter 16″ filming, can finally breathe a sigh of relief, kick back with his girlfriend and young son, and watch the season unfold on Friday nights with the rest of the world on FX, where two episodes have aired to date.

“It was a good experience, but it’s something you pass through that you never want to go back to,” Marunde told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio).

Not that it would be feasible to join another cast in the future, but you get the point.

Throw 16 disoriented men trained in tactical violence in a locked fraternity house with all vying for the same six-figure prize from the UFC, and you’ve created quite the conundrum.

“This show will test anybody no matter what walk of life you’re from – whether you’re young and have nothing to lose and live on a couch or like me,” Marunde said. “I have a nice king-size bed and a house here in Vegas and family and business. It tested me just as much.”

Marunde tried and failed to make the show years ago, and he vowed never to try again. Then he received an unexpected phone call from producers asking if he would come out to Las Vegas and go through the interview process again for Season 16. He would not have to participate in the rest of the weeding-out process, he was told. They knew he could fight this time.

With nothing to lose from a career standpoint, Marunde agreed, even though he knew he’d have plenty to lose from a physical standpoint. The show called for welterweights, not middleweights.

“I haven’t made 170 (pounds) since high school,” Marunde said. “That was like 12 years ago. I’ve been fighting at 185.”

He went in with the attitude to simply be himself, and it worked. He was cast on the show.

“A lot of it is just dumb luck,” Marunde said regarding the casting process. “For me, dumb luck, destiny – I don’t know.”

Fast-forward to an odd environment inside Mandalay Bay Events Center, where Marunde was paired opposite George Lockhart in the elimination-round of the competition, which cuts 32 fighters down to 16. It’s a setting for which no fighter has really been conditioned. There’s no music or crowd to feed off of. You don’t know the cornermen you’ve been provided. It’s so quiet you start hearing things you’ve never heard before, like your own footsteps.

To top it off, you don’t know anything about your opponent. As far as Marunde knew, Lockhart could be just about anything – a Shotokan karate black belt like Lyoto Machida, a leg-lock specialist like Rousimar Palhares – anything.

“There are a lot of unknowns,” Marunde said. “That creates a lot of apprehension in this fight. Then, obviously, the pressure mounting that you must win this fight. This is the most important fight of your life. This is going to change your family. No pressure.

“My thought was, ‘Don’t lose this fight. You better not drop this fight. You’re not going home. I refuse to go home.’ Everybody already thinks if they don’t hear from me, if my girlfriend doesn’t hear from me, that means I made it (the cast). If she hears from me, that means come pick me up.”

Her phone never rang. Marunde won by first-round guillotine choke to earn a spot in the “TUF” house.

“I just came out – one, one, two – he shot under me, and then I was just going for the knees,” he said. “And finally I connected one to his chin, and he shot in, and I shucked him down and sunk in that guillotine choke. I just felt a soft neck right on my forearm, and man, that was the best feeling ever.”

There would be no time for proper celebration or days off like there normally would be following a win. The show was just getting started. The reality of reality television was beginning to sink in quickly.

“Put on a microphone, be quiet, and sit down,” Marunde jokingly recalled being told. “I was like, ‘OK, maybe this is going to be a little different than I thought.'”

Marunde would be the second pick chosen by head coach Shane Carwin to join Team Carwin, which viewers quickly learned was his preference. FX aired an interview with Marunde in which he expressed, let’s just say, some joy and relief in being selected by Carwin as opposed to Roy Nelson.

“It wasn’t necessarily disrespecting Roy,” Marunde said. “I just know, and as the season unfolds you’re going to see what more and more happens, I didn’t want to be on his team just because I’ve seen his training. For me, I don’t think it’s organized. And I don’t think it’s conducive to the way I fight.”

As always, there may be more to the story.

Marunde recounted an incident in which he and Nelson, who are both Las Vegas residents, crossed paths on a memorable occasion at Throwdown Training Center.

“Maybe some of this [beef] originated from when we were sparring one time,” Marunde said. “He (Nelson) threw a giant uppercut and split my lip open and cut me all the way through. Maybe that has something to do with it. I don’t know.

“That would be like me punching a hole in a 145-pound (fighter’s) mouth, you know what I mean? He has like 60 or 70 pounds on me. So, whatever.”

Marunde is thankful the entire process is over, but also thankful he was given a unique opportunity. It was an experience he never thought he’d be a part of. Now the 30-year-old can add “Ultimate Fighter veteran” to his resume.

“Sometimes when you completely put it (something you really want) aside, and you don’t even want it anymore, that’s when you get it,” he said.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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